By Zach Clinchy, Contributing Writer
Susquehanna men’s rugby 15s season was one for the record books. After remaining undefeated in the regular season, the River Hawks had finished their season as the champions of the Mid-Atlantic Rugby Conference (MARC) Gold Division.
The team then advanced to the NSCRO Champions Cup against Loyola to determine who moved on to the Mid-Atlantic Cup in North Carolina at the beginning of December.
The River Hawks’ season came to an end in a hardfought 31-19 loss.
The River Hawks participate in The National Small College Rugby Organization, or NSCRO. The NSCRO is composed of more than 240 men’s teams. The national rankings for all small college teams in the United States were released Jan. 22 and the Susquehanna men’s rugby team finished 13th in the nation.
“We had a great season winning our league going 7-0, with a dominating victory over Bucknell University, our main rival,” head coach Jon Niles. “But ultimately we fell a little bit short in playoffs against a team [Loyola University of Maryland] that ended ranked fifth and won the Mid-Atlantic cup.”
“We were missing two key starters and a sub in that match. We had a lead with about 20 minutes left, but not having those starters began to show,” Niles said. “It was a great run for all of our seniors and they have worked so hard for the program.”
The recognition for Susquehanna continues as many of the team’s players were recognized for their great efforts this season.
The River Hawks had six players recognized as first team of the Mid-Atlantic Rugby Conference, including: Ryheem Powell, Eric Sayler, Zach Sauers, Cooper O’Connell, Isayah Young-Burke and Matt Kaltenbach. Zach Clinchy and Jackson Prusak were named second team of the MARC.
“15s this year felt very selfrewarding. Not only did we come out on top of our league, but every member of our team improved drastically,” Young-Burke said.
Susquehanna also had three players who received honorable mention, including: Riley Stone, Trey Milby, and Adam Morrow.
The president of Susquehanna men’s rugby team, Ryheem Powell, was named the MARC’s Most Valuable Player of the league.
The team is now gearing up for another successful season as they prepare for their 7s season this spring.
“7s is a completely different style of play where we have one to two-day tournaments, YoungBurke said. “Stamina, speed and key decision making will be priorities in the upcoming season.”
The River Hawks have played in the last four out of five NSCRO National 7s Championships, and are expecting to participate in the national event again this year.
“Last year was the first time that we did not qualify for the NSCRO 7s National Championship, as we lost in each of the 4 qualifiers to the team that won the tournament and went to nationals,” Niles said.
“It shows how close we were in that we lost to the number one, two, four and six teams last year.”
“However, last year there were a lot of new faces and only three players on that team were on the team when we finished 3rd [2016]. Now with that experience I think we can again qualify and look to win the championship this year,” Niles said.
The upcoming schedule will start with the NSCRO national Qualifier at Elon in North Carolina on March 3, following that the team will travel again to North Carolina on March 14 to compete in the St. Andrews’ 7s Tournament.
The team will then head to Maryland on March 24 and 25 for the NSCRO national qualifier at St. Mary’s.
To wrap up the month of March, the team will play the MARC 7s tournament at Susquehanna University.
For the month of April, the River Hawks will play in the MARC 7s series at PSU Berks. Susquehanna will travel to Lancaster, Pennsylvania on April 14 and 15 to compete in the NSCRO National Qualifier, and then travel to Pittsburgh for another qualifier.
The Susquehanna men’s rugby alumni game is on April 28, where they will welcome back many alumni to play once again.
“We’re hoping to win at the first qualifier in the country to solidify our spot in nationals when we travel to Elon on March 3,” senior team captain Cooper O’Connell said.
“Last year we lost to Duke in the playoffs, so getting through Duke this year will be a challenge we are expecting to face, and I think we’re ready for it.”
Currently, Duke is ranked 38th in the nation according to the NSCRO rankings, which is 25 spots behind Susquehanna.